500 words a day on whatever I want

Dylann Roof

Note: This post is based on what has been reported about Roof in the first hours after his arrest on June 18th 2015.

Dylann Storm Roof (1994- ), an American White supremacist, is suspected of having shot and killed six Black women and three Black men, including a state senator, at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The police are calling it a hate crime, but not an act of terrorism. They believe he acted alone.

He joined a Wednesday night Bible study at about 8.15pm on June 17th 2015. He asked where the pastor was and sat next to him. An hour later he stood up and started shooting. He reloaded his gun five times. When asked why he was killing people, he said:

“I have to do it. You rape our women and taking over our country. You have to go.”

Three survived: two played dead, one of them a five-year-old girl. The third he let live so that she could tell others what he had done – something that terrorists do.

The church’s security camera had caught him and his car on video. When pictures from the video were made public, his family and friends told the FBI who he was.

After a 14-hour manhunt, he was taken alive near Charlotte, North Carolina, 400 km away.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, did not know about him. Based on his Facebook page, they say he seems to be a “disaffected white supremacist”. In one Facebook picture (shown above) he wears a jacket with patches showing the flags of South Africa and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) from the 1970s, back when they were still under White rule.

The front plate on his car shows flags from the Confederate States of America, which fought to defend Black slavery 150 years ago. He lived in Columbia, South Carolina, which still flies the Confederate battle flag in front of the state capitol building.

In March he was arrested on a felony drug possession charge.

In April his father gave him a .45-calibre handgun for his 21st birthday. He practised his shooting.

His mother said:

“I don’t know what was going through his head. He was a really sweet kid. He was quiet. He only had a few friends.”

She knew he was in Charleston on Tuesday, the day before the shooting, but did not know why. She did not think he was racist or would kill anyone.

His uncle said he was “quiet and soft-spoken.”

John Mullins, who went to high school with him, said Roof was “kind of wild”:

“He used drugs heavily a lot. It was obviously harder than marijuana. He was like a pill popper, from what I understood. Like Xanax, and stuff like that.”

Mullins did not think he was racist:

“I never heard him say anything, but just he had that kind of Southern pride, I guess some would say. Strong conservative beliefs. He made a lot of racist jokes, but you don’t really take them seriously like that. You don’t really think of it like that.”

Here we go with white people acting oblivious about racism in America. They never ever think anything other white people do is racist, even if they make racist jokes!

I mean, what does a white person have to do in this day and age for another white person to see a racist for what he or she is? hang a black man?, burn a cross in their front yard? yell the “N” word from a damn roof top? sheesh!

Its just plain denial and all white people damn well know a racist when they see one, they just don’t care, plain and simple.

he musta got a first time plea bargain deal on the felony drug bust. that precludes or obviates even legal gun possession in the usa except missouri i think but you have to live there.
he’s a rather sad, troubled even, i’d say, looking fellow!
zimbabwe before mugabe? huh, rhodesia was that british?

that mf looks evil. what is it with white guys that look like Lloyd from dumb and dumber going shoot ppl. my as would’ve been suspicious from the get go, in the south white folks rarely go to black churches if they do it’s usually because they are dating or married to a black person they never come alone. it takes a special kind of evil to sit through bible study and then kill ppl.

The people that love telling black folks how to protest and about being peaceful and just praying, look what happened ,we aren’t even safe at church. Got these mfs coming into our community and doin this s** and we supposed to just pray.
It’s always the question of why, stop worrying about why and start worrying about how, how are they allowed to do this and how are we going to prevent another from happening and protect ourselves.

I’d love to see how people try to dismiss this, how can u dismiss people at bible study not being threatening and praying? U can’t, but watch them try. the mental illness card will be played soon…

I being 100% honest. Had i been in that church, when this white supremacist walked in, i would have been watching his ass like a hawk!!

I mean come on, how in hell does this white racist, walk in dressed the way he was at a all black church and raises no suspicion?

I mean the killer had a back pack for crying out loud! what white 21 year old man goes to a all black church with a back pack and nobody bats an eye lash??

He looked way out of place and i would have sat right behind him, within arms reach, so i can jump on his ass, soon as he looked like he was about to pull out a gun.

He looked to be 100 pounds, soaking wet! anyone of the men could have taken him down. Hell, even one of the black women he killed could have taken him down.

That goes to show that only black people are so trusting, so forgiving, so naive to the racist hate white people have for them, they failed to see the hidden danger that was sitting right in front of them for an hour.

I don’t know about all you black folks out there but i for one, will never let down my guard, if i see one or several white people walk in an all black church, that doesn’t live in the community.

I don’t give a rats *ss if he’s 15 years old! I’m looking for back packs and bulges in his pants or shirt!

he had black friends, and I was looking at msn and they said he had black friends and that he posted this stuff on his facebook and most of his facebook friends were black. yeah because if u have no black friends then u might be but there’s no way u can be racist if u have black friends, since u have gotten the black seal of approval and therefore all black folks must agree.

This is the only time that they are reporting on the black victims and not bringing up negative pasts, they are reporting on who they were.

I was just going to say that maybe we should start profiling solitary white men.

@mstoogood4yall
“I’d love to see how people try to dismiss this, how can u dismiss people at bible study not being threatening and praying? U can’t, but watch them try. the mental illness card will be played soon…”

“Early news reports on the Charleston church shooting followed a similar pattern. Cable news coverage of State Sen. and Rev. Clementa Pinckney, pastor of Emanuel AME who we now know is among the victims, characterized his advocacy work as something that could ruffle feathers. The habit of characterizing black victims as somehow complicit in their own murders continues.”

I am surprised there was no talk about his mental health because when the killers are white the msm always say the killer had mental health issues. Looking at his cold dead soulless eyes he looks like the demon that he is.

@ Sondis
I think many churches are going to have to implement some type of security measures in light of this tragedy. We as Christians are supposed to welcome any and everyone into the Lord’s house. Even strange out of place white boys in a predominantly Black church. Unfortunately, evil has a way of coming as well. I have been at a couple of churches where some people with obvious mental issues interrupted the services that were going on. One lady even walked up to our Pastor as he was beginning his sermon. She only hugged him but she could just as easily have shot or stabbed him.

Wow, this mass murderer gets a bullet proof vest. Why am I not surprised. After all those bikers were allowed to sit and text on their phones after their shoot out in Waco, TX. It’s amazing the levels of privilege given to whites even after committing horrific crimes.

You know this situation brought out a supreme change of events among my black Facebook friends. One black chick who is always preach respectability politics called the act racist a terrorist and told white commenter that they have to be blind or dumb not to see this was a black/white thing. Another supposedly pro-black chick had the nerve. ….mean nerve to say that this dude respectfully surrendered that is why he was treated that way and had he been black he would have acted a fool and would have needed to be beaten. I thought…..in the sand her head goes.

“@ Sondis
I think many churches are going to have to implement some type of security measures in light of this tragedy. We as Christians are supposed to welcome any and everyone into the Lord’s house. Even strange out of place white boys in a predominantly Black church.”

I didn’t anything about not welcoming any white people in a black church, You’re making an argument that i wasn’t making.

I said, that if i were there, i would have watched hiss ass like a hawk!

I didn’t say i would not welcome him in the church.

God also gave his people common sense to watch out for Satan’s disciples, not to just go about our lives, blissfully oblivious!

I think that you mistook my comment towards you as argumentative when it wasn’t. At least that was not my intention. I was merely trying to explain that as Christians we are to welcome everyone into His house. Everyone. Maybe they did find it odd that this young white person chose to be with them on a Wednesday night. Or maybe not. At any rate I was not arguing with you about whether or not you would have welcomed him in your church. I am not to be arguing with people I don’t know over the internet. My apologies if I came off like I was.

Justice for Roof? Shame about that vest. I don’t believe in executions by the state (any state), and I dislike violence in general. That said, if Roof’s life were to be cut short at the hands of an aggrieved individual I would consider that to be a small measure of justice.

If he is killed by the state it will be for their PR purposes. Any “justice” under those circumstances will be coincidental. Presuming his guilt, the community he harmed are the only people who would deal with him for honest motives. Convict him then shove him out the door of the Charleston court house and give the cops a day off.

I really pity my home folks sometimes. Within the Emanuel African Methodist Church, there is a picture of a white Jesus on the wall. In reality, that is in fact the image of the beast in the name of Cesare Borgia, a son bore by Pope Alexander VI through his mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. White Jesus was painted by Leonardo da Vinci after being commissioned by Pope Alexander. Had my folks been aware of this, they would’ve either been watching him like a hawk as Sondis suggested or they would’ve shoved him back out of the church or even called the police.

On the other hand, you get silly ass white folks foolishly say things like: It doesn’t matter what Yahawa (God) or (Yahawashi’s (Jesus) skin color was.” Darn it, well if it doesn’t matter, why is the image always white? It does freaking matter because people will then know whether to relax up or to keep their guards up when an angel of death come amongst them. My people were too comfortable with allowing this psychopath into their space and certainly was deceived.

CHRISTIANITY IS A MURDEROUS RELIGION. Go and ask the older Native Americans. Go and ask older black Americans who hasn’t been put under the spell of Cesare Borgia. Go and ask the older population who remember the Taino Indians of the Arawak people.

Revelation 1:14 says: 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which DECEIVETH THE WHOLE WORLD: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The image on the wall has long stringy hair, the image of the beast, this is just the opposite of what the Bible reveals and Dylan Roof is essentially one of the angels of death. Jesus was all about spreading the gospel, His words had nothing to do with promoting Christianity. His purpose was all about keeping God’s commandments. And to put an incorrect image of Him on the wall of a house of worship is blasphemy to the utmost.

I HOPE AND PRAY THAT MY PEOPLE WAKE UP AND BEGIN TO PRAY TO THE TRUE GOD, THE MOST HIGH, YAHAWA and know that us blacks in Amerika are of the tribe of Judah, the Israelites the Bible speaks of.

If he gets life in prison, he will be welcomed with open arms by the local skinhead, Nazi population. He will have found a home. Most people don’t see it this way. They just say toss him in jail and let him rot. A fine example of: be careful what you ask for. The death penalty is the way to go with this monster.

And the interesting thing about all this that white people will continue to act naive about is……he likely got all his hate and anger from “I’m not racist but..” white people that are all over the internet making racist and stereotypical remarks and not stormfront or some other racist site.

I think they don’t want to deal with the fact that those same people they love whether it be on tv, in sports, music, or their friends and relatives who make racist jokes and say racist things could act on it. In their world saying racist things has no correlation to doing racist things, it is why they can dismiss and say don’t be offended when white celebs put on blackface or tweet something. To them the kkk is racist but the everyday white person surely cannot be, since they are not acting on it, or at least not being caught acting on their racist views.

Racism starts out as thoughts, perfect example is Columbus, he thought the natives were too trusting and naïve and would make good slaves.
Then it turns into plotting, he starting plotting ways to exploit them and enslave them. Next is the gathering of resources to carry out the plan. Columbus asked for more men and more supplies. The next step is to carry it out, he had the natives look for gold and worked them to death.
The final step is to have a system in place to maintain “order” by showing how powerful they are and making the victims feel powerless. He did this by cutting off hands, killing, chasing them down with dogs, when they did not come up with enough gold.

I see what your saying.Though I feel the family threw that out there to deflect from a bigger issue here. Which is that more than likely the family openly spoke of or believed that too. It is easier for them to paint him as the racist…I mean troubled kid, so as to act as if they are “good” white people who loves everyone.

I’ve been reading the articles and the comments (as much as I can stomach) and of course that angle was already in play so I wouldn’t be surprised if the family tries to draw that card. Though I’m inclined to believe the cousin’s account since he(Dylann) had enough of an entitlement issue to believe random strangers’ mere existence was taking something from him and thus they needed to die.

@mstoogood4yall

Exactly! I touched on this earlier up thread. Some (many, too many it seems) white people perform all kinds of mental gymnastics to avoid any scrutiny of their way of life because heavens forbid that they’ve developed some pretty warped tendencies after several hundred years of shameless embellishing, scapegoating, silencing, raping, murdering and thieving.

From this very article:

“He made a lot of racist jokes..”

Is it normal to say racist things but not be racist? How does that work? Lol.

This might sound odd, but I actually have to agree with them in a sense. The reason being is because white society is using them as the racist boogie men. Making it seem as if the only way Roof could have acquire such behavior is from them and their kind. They are racist pos, but Roof got his attitude and behavior from average American whites.

All i could hear some white co-worker remark today at lunch in our breakroom as this tragedy blathered on Fox News today was “how young he was” How he had ruined his life and shaking their heads. I was not surprised at this behavior because this is the mindset of the majority white populace. I didn’t get outraged at this, however i thought it was kind of interesting. I have come to expect this.

“We have victims, 9 of them, but we also have victims on the other side…victims on this young man’s side of the family.”

What ? Are you serious ? The judghe showing sympathy for him ?

THIS IS A TEST CASE IN WHITE SUPREMACY

But I’m not suprised or shocked

In every situation, whites think they are the ones getting mistreated. “Those mean blacks, calling us racists when we do racist things. How dare they !!”

They value victim status because they’re a cult, and that’s how cults work. A cult can never be the oppressor, it always has to be oppressed. That’s what keeps the members insular, they have to stay in the cult because they’re being attacked by forces from outside. Every bunch of bad guys has to think they’re the good guys. The Ku Klux Klan thinks they’re the heroes. The Nazis thought they were the good guys.

It’s twisted, but it’s how many whites think. They can’t admit the truth because then they’d have to give up the victim status they’ve reserved for themselves. And they desperately need that if they’re going to preserve the f.u.cked-up lie that is their view of the world.

Despite the world of outrageous privilege whites generally live in, they think they’re getting the short end of everything. It’s mind-boggling that they could think that, but, it’s really how they see the world.

Dylan Roof ?

He’ll plead insanity, meaning he won’t get the death penalty. Even if he goes to the slammer. He’ll be hero aryan nation groups.

Well we all know that since it is 2015, we have a black president racism is dead! Soon we are going to find out that it wasn’t racism but some kind of mental condition that had been left untreated.

Never mind the his friends casual saying that Roof was just a good old conservative southern guy. Who crack a few of those jokes that we never take serious. Which means people around him were probably cracking those jokes.

@ Kiwi, I love how the article puts it as “Black guy takes his girl” was she ever his girl or just someone he lusted after.

I just feel sorry for those church members, his mind all set, his heart closed they received him with open arms. It is a shame to see what really lurks in the the heart of this country.

I know. It’s frustrating to think about it. It goes back to what Gen said:

”
…white people perform all kinds of mental gymnastics to avoid any scrutiny of their way of life because heavens forbid that they’ve developed some pretty warped tendencies after several hundred years of shameless embellishing, scapegoating, silencing, raping, murdering and thieving.
”

They do what they want to fill their bellies then then they create a legal, historical, mythological, and religious framework that justifies it all. By the time whites are finished, the people who had they victimized deserved it, by their account. The villification of the victim on an individual level in cases such as Trayvon Martin/John Crawford/Tamir Rice is a smaller-scale reflection of their character assassination of whole cultures after whites raped, pillaged, and enslaved. It’s the culturally endorsed pattern of thought. I expect it all the time and I’m never disappointed.

Like The Hip-Hop Records said it was just effing unbelievable to me that judge called the killer’s family “victims” really? I feel his family harbors these same beliefs. I don’t just buy this lone wolf narrative either. This stuff is not created in a vacuum. In a state that still allows the racist confederate flag to fly in front of the state capitol that’s pretty telling about the white majority population of that state in South Carolina. Not just S.C. but all over America. Many white want to bury their heads in the sand and just pretend this is an isolated incident and that it’s about mental illness. That mental illness card has been pretty convenient to pull out in regards to white people who perpetuate heinous crimes in this country. This is a “terrorist act as well as a hate crime. I was watching a clip of the candidates running for the office of POTUS and they had remarks about the Charleston tragedy. Each one never mentioned the word “racism” They all called it a case of the shooter being mentally ill. And one used religious freedom being violated. Mental illness and attacks on religious freedom are deflection tactics. None of them wanted to call this thing what it really is a hate crime. America especially a large majority of white Americans are never going to be honest about how racism is huge in this country and how it is destroying lives of black people.

So guns, mental illness and attacks on religious freedom are going to be deflection tactics the msm will use to spin their narratives about this tragedy in Charleston. The friends and roommate knew about this psycho and it’s possible they too harbor the same mentality and ideologies as him. It’s amazing how in these incidents they always find a black so called friend. The he had black friends narrative. Zimmerman had a black friend, The woman in the Mckinney swimming pool incident who instigated the incident by hurling racial insults at the black teens had a black roommate who said she didn’t have a racist bone in her body. America needs to have a “Come to Jesus meeting.” White American are to cowardly to have this dialogue.

Exactly and we’ll said. I read an article asking white people to stop having these fake conversations about race. Most of the whites wanted to pull white woman’s tears. Then you had the blacks that wanted to coddle them. Then you had the blacks who did not have a problem laying down the truth.

@sharinalr: Exactly. I don’t know what else needs to happen before white America can sit with black America and have an honest dialogue about race in this country. It’s so crazy too me how white Americans don’t want to address the elephant and his stinky sh**t in the room.

Hi All-
.
It’s been a while since I’ve been on Abagond’s blog. Primarily because I’ve spent the past year getting settled on the West Coast.

I’ve always appreciated many of your insightful perspectives on the diverse topics Abagond writes about. I’m so glad there’s a forum like this to express ourselves. So I hope to contribute to the conversation when possible.

A lot of you have covered how I’ve felt about Dylann Roof’s senseless, evil and IMHO terroristic act. My heart breaks for the victims and their families. As I watched some of the family members forgive him in court yesterday and pray for his soul… What strength and spirit that must have taken. I personally couldn’t have done it.

As Mary and others have highlighted, the MSM is already digging out the excuse playbook: mental illness, troubled young man, the act of a lone wolf, attack on religious freedoms; oh and my personal favorite (it’s Obama’s fault). Somehow Obama is to blame for declining race relations in the minds of some. In my Chris Rock voice, “I’m tired…tired..tired..tired.” I’m tired of the spin. We see it time and time again after these mass shootings by mostly White gunmen.

My question to everyone is, what can we/I do differently to call the media out on their BS? Sometimes I feel really hopeless because you can see the spin so clearly and very few challenge these reporters to shed balanced perspectives. Something needs to change. Where does one start?

So Dylan Roof’s young black friend said “The Dylan that i know doesn’t do things like this. He was not in his right mind”. Then the young black man goes on to say that Roof was going to shoot up a community college in Charleston but he couldn’t get in the school and went to the church instead.” What in the five fiery rings of hell is that about? If he knew about something like that he should have reported him. That might have saved those nine victims lives.

“The event that truly awakened me was the Trayvon Martin case. I kept hearing and seeing his name, and eventually I decided to look him up. I read the Wikipedia article and right away I was unable to understand what the big deal was. It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right. But more importantly this prompted me to type in the words “black on White crime” into Google, and I have never been the same since that day.”

In the webpage Abagond gave us the link for, at least he admitted whites pretending to be colour-blind is a farce. He said

The pathetic part is that these White people dont even admit to themselves why they are moving. They tell themselves it is for better schools or simply to live in a nicer neighborhood. But it is honestly just a way to escape n-gg-s and other minorities.

@bygodsloveandgrace: Hilary Clinton is saying all the right things especially in regards to the tragedy in Charleston. I guess that’s to secure votes from the black community. Jeb Bush has kind of side stepped the race conversation. Rand Paul said that it was an attack on religious freedom. I have to give Hillary some respect for at least acknowledging the tragedy.

@King: I understand not trusting Hillary Clinton in comparison to her an the other politicians at least she did say race was problematic in this country. I don’t trust any politician. I just observed that the other candidates were deflecting and she at least did mention race was a huge problem in this country. i don’t think we can trust any of them.

First timer on this blog and I’m finding it very educational and thought provoking. Also a little off-base and laughable at times, but the variety of opinions is what makes it an interesting read.
The one problem I have with the trend of comments being posted is that mostly all posts refer to this ‘Son of Satan’ as white people and this is an example of how evil white people are. Why is this not looked at for what its is. An evil human being committing an equally evil act against his fellow brothers and sisters. Plain and simple, it’s not all that complicated or steeped in mystery. Which is why it is beyond me why atrocities of America’s past are being used to try and drum up a debate on a subject that doesn’t even apply to this tragedy. The kind of talk going right now all over the internet and in our communities is one that’s being directed and manipulated by the small group of elites that control every ounce of our left and right mainstream media. The powers that be don’t want either you and I , or your family, your friends, your neighbors & coworkers to have the intellectual and unifying discussion that can produce real results for the change this country so desperately needs. Instead of what color this demon decided to show himself as or what privileges he may or may not be given. Why not look at why, and not the conservative white supremacist racist stormfront fan club excuse. A look at the real reason why, the deep rooted problems to the constant failing of our society. Our society as a whole, which each and every one of us has some skin in the game and should be deeply concerned with how the people in this country have become so void of what I believe is a natural and instinctual behavior to be good to your fellow man/woman. We’ve let our kids/next generation down by not holding onto and instilling in our youth, the basic morals of right and wrong. Instead we have let ourselves become victims of indoctrination and corporate controlled programming to give excuses for ones actions and to always blame the other person instead of reflecting inward to indenify and correct or at least work on bettering one’s spirit by turning our faults to triumphs overcame. Using those life lessons to pass down and guide the innocence of our children to stay innocent. In hopes they can become moral and spiritual leaders for their own families and communities while continuing the cycle. When after all most of our societal problems begin at home, whether you or I and anyone close to us are willing to admit.
This was a severely disturbed individual that in no way represents any financial class, or race of people. Any political affiliation or religious beliefs a group or sect of people might have. This was evil perpetrated by evil. We should ask ourselves why this young man did not have the moral aptitude to understand the pain and anguish he was about to inflict or human emotions that our Father/Higher Power put in us to be able to connect with his other children he’s blessed the world with.
In society today, it has become cool and in some areas of the country normal, to not believe in God or the higher power you’ve chosen to follow and guide you through life. We have let the rulers decide what is right and what is wrong. How we should educate and discipline our kids. We let them tell us our children are sick or not smart enough and won’t be productive members of their society unless you make ’em take some sort of drug. We have let them dictate how we should feel or what we should believe through the opinions of a few who truly believe they know what is best for you when they few have lived on a hilltop and view the everyday life of everyday Americans from afar. For generations this has been happening and a great majority of the population have finally began waking up from the effect and impact it has made on this country. As you can see from this latest tragedy of what seems to be an endless string of chaos feeding the coming implosion of our country and society, it has not worked for our betterment. However the rulers have maintained control through multiple generations and have only grown even more wealthy and dangerously more powerful.
I’ll end my long winded comment with this, the sooner we realize this is not a black-white-young-old-racist-non-racist issue. We as humans and children of something greater have to start taking responsibility of the society we’ve created and understand what the real problems are. Then and only then will we be able to correct the path we are on currently. That means stop the blaming, nothing ever got fixed by blaming and pointing fingers. Creating more chaos from chaos only leads to more chaos.We need smart intelligent and compassionate conversation with a whole lot of common sense thrown in. Don’t be afraid to speak the truth eventhough you may be crucified for it.
Before change comes truth.

Let me save you some trouble about the term “White people.”as used here.

1) Rarely does it mean “ALL” White people.
2) Usually is shorthand for the White System/ White Power Structure
3) “Whiteness” is not real in the sense that it is an arbitrary designation
4) There always have been and are now regular White commenters here

So you must take all of those things under advisement as you read. Most of us are not saying that everybody with light skin and straight hair acts like this or does that.

Now that king has gotten the basics out of the way I will attempt to politely address the other stuff. Some of it anyway.

You stated:

An evil human being committing an equally evil act against his fellow brothers and sisters. Plain and simple, it’s not all that complicated or steeped in mystery. Which is why it is beyond me why atrocities of America’s past are being used to try and drum up a debate on a subject that doesn’t even apply to this tragedy. The kind of talk going right now all over the internet and in our communities is one that’s being directed and manipulated by the small group of elites that control every ounce of our left and right mainstream media.

My response:

This line of thinking among people is part of the problem. Yes he was an evil individual who committed a racist act of terrorism, but need we ignore where he got this from? Heck no. What he said was things I have seen on this blog and many others from whites who say “I’m not racist” “I have black friends” “All lives matter” etc.This is the point where white people need to stop blaming it on his drugs, broken heart, psychotic mind, or the powers that be and own up to the fact that his racist attitude came from the average everyday white people. Until white people are ready to own up and stop pacifying people of color with loads of bs that mean nothing at the end of the day, then the divide will continue on and it won’t be because the elites are doing it. It will be because average whites refuse to take responsibility and call out racism instead of continued blind eyes.

I am afraid the only option we have for dealing with media is creating our own news outlets and media. The media will lie, you can ask for a correction, and it will continue to push that lie regardless. They are about money and money only. If the story does not sell then they are not interested.

You are speaking to my point, for the most part. We all have to start taking responsibility for our own and our neighbors. Start holding people accountable. This kid had parents, where were they? Should we believe they too have the same hateful racist views as he? If so then they are just as culpable, if they don’t(since the dad ID’d him, I wouldn’t think they do)and stood idely by while he spiraled out of control, I say they are equally culpable from that point of view. His friend who said in his statement that he began talking of wanting to start a civil/race war. Why not hold him accountable for not speaking up. He also said that it was unlike him to speak that way. The point is, it’s not just white people that need to stand up for what is right and take responsibility. Every American who loves this country should take on that same responsibility.
Having a group of people admit they are inherently racist and that the racism they spread consumes and possess humans with unstable physcological mentalities. Driving them to commit heinous acts. May make some people feel better but will do absolutely nothing to resolve an issue that affects every American one way or another.
For the record I’m a mutt, with a black&white father and a white&Hispanic mother. I have the fortunate ability to look objectively from outside the box, and what I see runs a lot deeper than black & white.

Possibly mentally deficient, got to 9th grade, took it twice and then dropped out.

Some kind of mental problem.

Supposedly taking a drug that can cause violent out-bursts.

Was mooning on a chick that went out with a black guy instead of him.

Killed mostly women.

An incredibly racist guy.

His two potential targets?

1. A college, where intelligent people could do things with their lives.

2. Black church

Went with the black church.

Things to consider; these guys often look similar don’t they?

Skinny dudes, bowl cuts and that far away/crazy look in the eye.

As for Lee Boyd not getting armor:

Ultimately the biggest problem with all these guys as for why they decide to go on a killing spree…..is they can’t get laid and their ego can’t handle it. Well; there’s all the other stuff too but that seems to be the number 1 qualifier here.

This is a long one guys. I was about to respond again to Pumpkin’s point about white projection but had to leave so this is two posts in one. Mary’s posts about the media’s deflection from Dylann Roof’s expressed motives, dishonesty about white racism and Roof – of all people – calling them out, also gave me ideas. IMO, it’s all related.

Guys, this BS is not about us but about white needs. It’s not that they’re afraid to tell the truth because they’re embarassed to admit their racism to us. No, no, hell no!!! They’re still racist and many express their views out of earshot of anyone who won’t challenge them. It’s not about fear of being ostracized either because the media is covering for someone who was openly racist and didn’t care.

However, there is a cultural narcicissm associated with whiteness that entitles whites to feel good about themselves or that their “shit don’t stink”. Part of the function of the media is to act as a funny mirror which hides their true reflection so they can live comfortably in that illusion on land they stole, and among people they enslaved, terrorized, or virtually exterminated. Any honest self-examination of their white ways would result in uncomfortable cognitive dissonance. That is why it doesn’t happen! White cognitive dissonance is a mouthful compared to “white guilt” but is more accurate. Guilt improperly implies contrition or remorse which is not the norm.

I grabbed this from Wikipedia:
”
In psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.

Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance focuses on how humans strive for internal consistency. An individual who experiences inconsistency (dissonance) tends to become psychologically uncomfortable, and is motivated to try to reduce this dissonance—as well as actively avoid situations and information likely to increase it
”

IMO, whites experience cognitive dissonance on a cultural scale. This is why they also “project” as Pumpkin pointed out. They want to believe that they, as a group, are “good” even in the face of their fondness for theft and genocide. In order to arrive at the desired conclusion, despite all the contrary evidence, they must decide that everyone else is “bad”. This makes them deserving of the treatment whites meted out. They gain internal consistency of thought while they lose touch with reality; and humanity.

This also explains why white people have a big problem with being called racists but seem fine with a racist system. They recognize racism as “bad” so being called racist conflicts with their desired self-image. “I can’t be racist because I am not a bad person.” Therefore they find it uncomfortable when people bring up racism because of cognitive dissonance. It’s not shame since there is no associated feeling of regret. Rather, it’s a nagging awareness that their group self-image is inacurate and they don’t want to be reminded. This is why they get ANGRY and accuse YOU of “playing the race card” so you’ll shut up. It’s like the man who snatches the old lady’s bag then angrily argues that she’s a liar and he’s an entrepreneur after she yells “thief”.

The centuries of racism have had obvious effects on black people but whites have not escaped unscathed. If they had any humanity to begin with, they had to sacrifice it in order to create and sustain a monstrously exploitive system which is incompatible with empathy.https://abagond.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/the-hearts-of-white-people-the-science/
Isn’t that almost literally selling your soul to the devil? That is the price they paid. It’s ironic, though entirely just, that the ones who presided over a dehumanizing system were dehumanized as a consequence.

We never lost our empathy and we were born into a system designed to assuage white cognitive dissonance. In this hostile environment, we have been conditioned to avoid making whites uncomfortable because that could have negative consequences. Wasn’t Reuben Stacey lynched for startling a white woman by asking for water? It’s not surprising that the media can find a “black friend” to help downplay Roof’s racism.

It also explains why black people need healing spaces away from whites. We have entirely different recuperative needs. There can be no equivalence between the oppressor and the oppressed. We need our experiences validated while their pathologies drive them to deny us that very thing. Trying to get water from a stone only leads to endless frustration. Many white people who claim to be against racism still want to feel coddled, like a hero, made comfortable and placed on a pedestal. Their presence triggers the black conditioning to take care of whites’ feelings instead of “keeping it real”. If you make them upset you might become “worse than Hitler” over expressing rage at an unprovoked church massacre.

Finally, there may be unexpected empirical evidence for the theory: Rachel Dolezal. I didn’t plan on mentioning her here but, in retrospect, she is walking, talking, cognitive dissonance. However, she chose to resolve her internal inconsistencies by portraying herself as black (people are complex so I’m not discounting other reasons). This allowed her to examine the facts about white racism while distancing herself personally from it. Furthermore, she found communities that dealt with racism issues just not from the perspective she needed. So she performed mental gymnastics to justify lying about her experiences and background. It probably felt nice to be admired as a heroic light-skinned black woman working hard for social justice. That is the narcissistic element because that persona was false. Dolezal may seem delusional but virtually all whites are, just in a different way. We are more accustomed to its other expressions.

After viewing the ABC news footage and seeing Roof’s childhood friend Caleb Brown who is bi-racial it occurred to me maybe because Brown who is bi-racial probably doesn’t understand white supremacy and is naive just like the poster Slickline 311.

Yes I saw Hillary’s speech today. She’s saying all the right things. Whether that translates into new policies for gun control and domestic terrorism remains to be seen.

On the GOP side, I can’t take Rand Paul, Rick Perry and others seriously. They have and always will be out of touch on race.

@sharilnar.. fair point. Unfortunately we do have some media outlets speaking to our issues but they’re not as heard as the MSM. You’re right it’s all about the $$. So we’d need to find an organized work to write to network’s corporate sponsors. Let our spending power do the talking.

This kid had parents, where were they? Should we believe they too have the same hateful racist views as he? If so then they are just as culpable, if they don’t(since the dad ID’d him, I wouldn’t think they do)and stood idely by while he spiraled out of control, I say they are equally culpable from that point of view.”—Apparently you did not read his manifesto, but even so that does not mean his parents are magically not racist. That just means they are either A) shocked he acted on it or B) trying to cover their tracks of where he got his racist views from.

“His friend who said in his statement that he began talking of wanting to start a civil/race war. Why not hold him accountable for not speaking up”—I sure do believe he should be as I believe I said that before on this thread.

“The point is, it’s not just white people that need to stand up for what is right and take responsibility.”—Why should black people take responsibility for white peoples inability to call out racism? That is a problem that plagues whites. Why is it every time the call for whites to own up leads to whites saying “we all should” after contradictions such as “everyone should deal with their own group”?

“Having a group of people admit they are inherently racist and that the racism they spread consumes and possess humans with unstable physcological mentalities. Driving them to commit heinous acts. May make some people feel better but will do absolutely nothing to resolve an issue that affects every American one way or another.”—Admitting is one thing we are calling for action and this is not some people this is for every non-white person. White racism and supremacy is the issue. One you don’t seem vested in fixing.

“For the record I’m a mutt, with a black&white father and a white&Hispanic mother. I have the fortunate ability to look objectively from outside the box, and what I see runs a lot deeper than black & white.”—I don’t care if you were Jesus. What you look like does not mean snot to me who can not prove or disprove such assertions.

I’ve also seen some of the chatter on the conservative news blogs and some people really do feel for Dylann’s family. His sister cancelled her wedding this weekend. The conservative blogs are saying she turned Dylann in to the FBI. She’s getting tons of support from people writing her saying how sorry they feel for her situation. Not ONE comment about the 9 people who lost their lives.. smh

By the way, there is no equivalence between black anger and white racism. For the same reason, you cannot understand the violence of slave revolts without the context of the evil plantation system.

White people love to reframe the argument in terms of “hate” so they can claim that black people hate too. The onus then falls on black people not to hate whites. If only you didn’t hate white people they wouldn’t be racist. Say that out loud and digest how ludicrous it is.

@bygodsloveandgrace: That is what’s messed up about that nothing about the victims. This too me is “whiteness” And by that i mean all they can see is this situation through their white lens. The judge and the white people who have this type of narrow mindset are the problem. This is infuriates me and then they want to know why we are angry.

@Mary Burrell
I remember a lot people were saying Adam Lanza’s mother deserved what she got and they didn’t consider her a victim. After all, she left her guns unsecured and her son later used them to slaughter (mostly white) young children. Many people were angry and thought that bore some of the blame because she should have known the risks.

I wonder how many people feel sorry for Roof’s family despite the reports than his father bought him a gun for his birthday.

Very well said and I agree I have seen much of the same. Those that I have seen mention the victims always slide in some “they did it too” remark. One example is one white lady made the comment to pray for the victims, but then went on to say blacks are not innocent and they had slaves. When responses came in she would say “we should focus on the victims.” She wanted to appear moral and loving when I reality she was nothing short of a racist pos.

@Origin: I am sure it sucks to where in their position today. I am sure there are a great many that sympathize with Roof’s family. I haven’t heard his family express sorrow for their evil son’s heinous actions.

Unfortunately some of those folks show us how inhumane they are. They don’t value Black life. Therefore, it’s not even a thought to mention of think about the actual victims.

The children of the confederate South have passed down the traditions for each generation. It’s so ingrained that I don’t think some people can be reached. The cycle never ends.

@sharinalr.. I’ve seen similar comments too. Instead of just owning that this guy was a racist killer, you’ll have someone brining up Black people owning slaves or black on black crime or any of 100s of deflection points. The further they can shift and deflect, the easier it is to deny the truth. Quite frankly, I don’t always have the energy to deal with people who think like that; especially online.

At first, I had the impression that Roof just burst in and started shooting. When I learned that he sat in that study for 1 hour it took it to another level for me. Unless I’m mistaken, this was a pretty intimate gathering rather than a huge church service. I could never murder a dozen or so people that I hung with for an hour after they welcomed me. That’s long enough to learn everyone’s names.

Columbus said this about people the Spanish later exterminated:
“..they are so unsuspicious and so generous with what they possess that no one who has not seen it would believe it, never refusing anything that is asked for and they also offer themselves and show so much love that they would give their very hearts.”
“In the first isle I discovered I took by force some of the natives.”

The events surrounding the Charleston massacre say a lot about black people and even more about how white racism. Roof went there on a mission and he followed through and slaughtered almost all of those people despite the fact the they welcomed him kindly. Regardless of white spin, their racism is not a reaction to what’s wrong with us. It’s generated 100% from their cultural imperatives and it’s 100% their pathology.

Anyway, I have to take a break from this. I just need to clear my head and enter a place of peace right now. Take care everyone. Be safe. Hug the people you love.

Yeah, it’s stressful. I was up late the night I found out about it too.

Charleston’s church massacre is direct and sickening. We have been experiencing white terrorism consistently even as it manifests in different forms over the centuries. Even attacking a black chuch not a new tactic in the white terror campaign. Heck, they leveled the prosperous black part of the city of Tulsa in the 1920s. They dropped bombs from airplanes! It’s also sickening that black people die from the indirect effects of the white system of racism every day. I don’t think most of us are awake to where this fits into the larger pattern so that’s frustrating.

I’m like you. I feel like we have to take advantage of our freedom to stop supporting this system. Even if our divestment starts out with tiny steps, it can grow into something.

Dylan Roof is a victim in regards to he was a white man born to a society that actively hates him and hates his people, hates his culture and his identity,

LOLZORZ! Like the most privileged and powerful group on the whole planet is hated by the whole “society” so much that it’s reduced to a terribly downtrodden state. I could name another group that is not only TRULY hated by the whole society, one whose “people, culture, and identity” are TRULY despised but which THIS racist AND this THUG are complicit in the HATRED of.

“Dylann Roof” is a THUG of Thugs and should be HANGED. #HangEmHigh ! Hanging is a very fitting punishment here, considering that’s what his ideological and maybe even biological (who knows what’s in his family tree?) predecessors did to thousands who were far less deserving of it.

With all that’s been going on in the mainstream media with the nation’s latest massacre and the pulling down of the Confederate flag in South Carolina many of these right-winged politicians are talking with CAREFUL words. I guess they don’t want to shake any waters – translated as upset their fan base.

Yeah, it’s the same old story. The victim’s family pretends they knew nothing about it and can’t understand where their boy went wrong. He’s only been a legal adult for a few years, and no one believes he became racist overnight.

I just got around to watching some of a video called “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome” by Dr Joy De Gruy Leary. I was excited to hear her touch on cognitive dissonance as a reason for white dehumanization of others. I may have been following the right trail there.

”
John Newton…Amazing Grace. Well let’s figure out what happened before he got Amazing Grace.
He said, “Slaves are lesser creatures without Christian souls and this are not destined for the next world”.
Now what becomes important about this kind, and you’ll see it both in American history as well, there is this kind of dehumanization of African people. Because you gotta ask yourself this question, how do people who deem themselves superior, who see themselves as the civilizers, who recognize themselves as the what we call the “Manifest Destiny”, the “White Man’s Burden” of civilizing the rest of the races, how do you reconcile being the superior being and engaging in barbaric behavior?

What that produces is something called cognitive dissonance. […] Cognitive dissonance is reallly thinking discord. It’s when you begin to feel conflict between what you believe or understand or hold to be true and you are then faced with behaviors, either in yourself or others, that conflict with your fundamental belief. It produces cognitive dissonance. Human beings don’t function well with cognitive dissonance. You must remove the cognitive dissonance in order to function. So in order for people to perpetuate slavery and to perpetuate that whole system that lasted for centuries you had to remove all dissonance associated with it. “Can’t be anything wrong with me. Certainly isn’t us. We’re the civilizers. We’re the superior so it must be them. Oh yes, well you see they don’t even have souls. No I can go to sleep because I’m not really dealing with a human being.”
”

This guy, Dylann Roof, is sick.
Recently, during court procedures he laughed when invited to think about what he did. He seems to show no remorse at all. It seems to me that he will be punished with the death penalty.
See,

One part of me thought put him with the black inmates eating and sleeping and breathing with black inmates. That would drive him to kill himself. Sticking a needle in his arm and letting him just go to sleep is too humane. He needs to suffer as he has no remorse for what he did. He is a rabid mongrel and needs to be treated like the animal he is. I suppose it’s a waste of the tax payer’s money to keep this waste of skin alive breathing oxygen. Maybe the rabid mongrel needs to be put down.

I could be incorrect but if I am I don’t imagine it’s by much… Fifty to five hundred years ago the multiple killing of 9 African descended people by a white person wouldn’t have been much of a crime (aside from the loss of monetary value …) or if it were it would have been covered up. Perhaps Amerikan society moved forward one or two inches in that span of time??

How many more inches and hundreds of years will it take to remove the rest of the color based mistreatment (white supremacy/racism) from the world?

Roof, in my opinion, deserves to live the next 100 years in a prison where all the inmates, staff – everyone – is Black. (Though I have not heard of such a segregated place in present day Amerika!) Let him exist as the sole white person in an ocean of Blackness. Death by execution for Roof would be too cheap and too easy a price to pay for what he did.

“One part of me thought put him with the black inmates eating and sleeping and breathing with black inmates. That would drive him to kill himself. Sticking a needle in his arm and letting him just go to sleep is too humane.”